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'Lack of enforcement' of construction law is focus of John Morganelli news conference

lisa boscola and john morganelli

Pennsylvania state Sen. Lisa Boscola and Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli today will discuss the "lack of enforcement" of Pennsylvania's Construction Workplace Misclassification Act, Morganelli said in an email.

Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli will be joined at 2 this afternoon by political and labor leaders to discuss the "lack of enforcement" of Pennsylvania's Construction Workplace Misclassification Act.

State Sen. Lisa Boscola, state Sen. Mike Stack, who is running for lieutenant governor, Northampton County Councilman Ken Kraft and others will join Morganelli for the news conference in the county courthouse in Easton, according to an email from the district attorney.

The law defines who can be considered an independent contractor in the construction business when it comes to unemployment compensation, workers' compensation and improper classification of workers.

Morganelli said construction companies often classify employees as independent contractors, when those employees don't meet the criteria. The employers do this to avoid taxes and other responsibilities, he said.

Morganelli said he has met previously with the state Department of Labor and Industry, which he says has civil powers to shut down job sites, among other things, as part of an invesitgation. The county district attorney's office does not have the money or the power to do the job as well as the state, he said.

Stack is pushing legislation that would reimburse local district attorneys who pursue violators of the law, work that was intended for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor, the candidate said in a news release.

The Department of Labor has only reported 29 violations since the law went into effect in 2010, Stack said.

"I chose Northampton County to make this announcement because District Attorney John Morganelli has been a leader in enforcing Act 72," Stack said in the release. "Since he is doing the state's job in protecting workers exploited by greedy contractors, I believe the commonwealth should reimburse him and other prosecutors for expenses related to enforcing Act 72. By establishing a reimbursement policy, prosecutors will have resources to more aggressively go after shady practices in the construction trades."

Morganelli, who said he didn't know Stack was seeking to reimburse the county district attorneys, added with a laugh, "I'll take money."